The Bangladesh shipbuilding industry is the upcoming player in global market for small and medium sea-going vessels. While the industry mainly caters to the domestic market, exports have been growing satisfactorily over the last decade. Bangladeshi companies have exported ro-ro vessel, multipurpose container vessel, tug boat, landing craft, bulk carrier, patrol vessel, catamaran water taxi, ferry, oily waste collection vessel and passenger vessels to various countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.
There are currently more than 100 ship builders and over 120 registered shipyards of varying size, located mostly on the river banks. In Bangladesh, almost 90% of fuels, 70% of cargos and 35% of passengers are moved by waterways, bringing about a huge domestic demand for vessels. Owing to steady economic and trade developments, and activated infrastructure projects, locally registered number of vessels has increased with average annual growth rate of 5.39%. Annual market value of local shipbuilding industry is currently valued around USD 1 billion, and the demand growth is forecasted to remain steady along with the economic growth. Annual building capacity for export orders is estimated as more or less 20 vessels currently. Vessels built locally for domestic usage include MPV, container, bulker, tanker, dredger, tug as well as passenger ferry, and ranges from 1,000 to 20,000 dwt in size.